Lowgators Wow the Lowcountry in First Game at Home as Pressure Defense Sparks Second Victory

NORTH CHARLESTON, SC. Nov. 17, 2001 – Fred House scored 19 points to lead the North Charleston Lowgators to its second victory with a 91-66 win over the Fayetteville Patriots in the Lowgators'' regular season home opener at the North Charleston Coliseum.

The Lowgators used a stifling defense to spark their run-and-gun offense and cruised to the team's second victory over the Patriots. The Lowgators (2-0) converted 30 turnovers into 24 points and limited the Patriots (0-2) to 36.1% shooting.

"It's what I tell the players: It's the defense that starts the offense," North Charleston coach Alex English said. "We have such great one-on-one offensive players, and they understand the defensive concept so well."

The Lowgators leading scoring Fred House, had six rebounds and three steals to add to 19 points. "The first thing you learn in basketball is defense wins games," said House. That means taking charges and things like that and that's what we did tonight."

C.J. Black added 14 points and nine rebounds, and Antonio Grant and Sedric Webber each had 12 points off the bench. Tes Whitlock, starting at point guard after a 26 performance Friday's 96-91 win over the Greenville Groove, had six points and seven assists.

Terrell McIntyre, Rasul Salahudin and Kaniel Daniels each had 12 points for the Patriots. "They (Lowgators) came out with a lot of fire and a lot of energy, " Fayetteville coach Nate "Tiny" Archibald said. "We got down early and we never came back. They kept their poise and what they really did is control the tempo, the transition."

The Lowgators jumped out to a quick 24-13 lead in the first quarter by running, hitting the open man and draining the shots. They also forced 10 turnovers in the first 10 minutes. The Patriots' 7-1 center Darrell Johns helped cut the margin to a 38-31 at halftime. The Lowgators led by as many as 27 points in the second half as they kept up the pressure.